Angelou wrote and recited a poem in honour of Nelson Mandela at the time of death. She met Mandela in the 1960s when she lived in Cairo. In her poem, His Day is Done, Angelou mourns Mandela’s death, praises him as a modern-day David who slew a mighty Goliath and a Gideon, who freed the South African people.

Dr Maya Angelou, playwright, producer, director, best-selling author, civil rights activist, educator and historian accepted the role of Honorary Global Ambassador of the 2015 Mandela International Film Festival.

This event will take place in the Eastern Cape in December 2015 and is expected to be the biggest film festival in the southern hemisphere.

At the 13th annual Tribeca Film Festival currently taking place in New York, His Royal Highness Nkosi Zwelivelile (Mandla) Chairperson of the Mandela International Film Festival and as the grandson of the late Nelson Mandela, Mandela invited Angelou to be the first Global Ambassador of the Mandela International Film Festival.

He was honoured at her acceptance.  “Your tireless endeavours towards the civil right movement are those that echo that of my grandfather, which is why we have invited you to be the first Global Ambassador,” he said.

From the home of  ‘Legends’, the Mandela Film Festival inaugural year will honour the film, entertainment and media legends that made a continuous effort to keep South Africa top of mind during the apartheid era as South Africa celebrate 20 years of freedom and independence.

Angelou wrote and recited a poem in honour of Nelson Mandela at the time of death. She met Mandela in the 1960s when she lived in Cairo.

In her poem, His Day is Done, Angelou mourns Mandela's death, praises him as a modern-day David who slew a mighty Goliath and a Gideon, who freed the South African people.

Dr Angelou has received over 50 honorary degrees and is Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University. To this day, her words and actions continue to stir souls, energise bodies, liberate minds, and heal hearts.

The project is being backed by the Eastern Cape Government and the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency.

The film festival will run from 3 – 12 December 2015 and has already elicited excitement among potential stakeholders.

The Nelson Mandela Bay area of the Eastern Cape offers not only an exceptional venue for the film industry but is also is part of a massive investment promotion strategy that includes a range of initiatives from infrastructure to manufacturing, tourism and even agriculture.

Click here to view Maya reciting 'His day is done'